Residents have sounded off about late-opening noise levels at a Middlesbrough restaurant.

Council planners refused an application to extend the weekend opening hours for Central Park restaurant following a number of complaints.

Bosses want to open the Linthorpe Road eaterie until 1am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - an hour and a half later than their usual closing time.

They claim the restaurant, which had a late licence for a year from October 2000, has always been able to ply its trade without any problems and have appealed against the decision.

But local residents have raised concerns about noise nuisance if the restaurant, which has operated for 15 years in the town, is allowed to open late.

Peter Williams, who manages the Central Park restaurants in Middlesbrough and Darlington, said: "Often at the weekend we will get big parties of 30 or 40 - some want to go into town afterwards and some don't so we want to provide music and let them have a dance if they want to.

"We also want to appeal to people who want to have a meal after they've been into town.

"Some people were a bit dubious because we are a restaurant and they thought we were trying to get away from that side of the business but that's not the case.

"It isn't a position where people can come in for a late drink - it's dining only and the entertainment comes second.

"We can't see how, for the sake of an extra hour or so, people will get much more drunk or rowdy."

A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said the restaurant applied for a 2am licence in October 2000 but was refused because the business did not have planning consent to open until that time.

The authority granted a 1am licence, despite noise concerns from local residents, but a year later the restaurant did not attempt to renew its late licence.

The spokesman said: "The restaurant has requested a 2am licence on a number of occasions and been refused.